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Cozy Mystery Book Recommendations – April 2017

April is ending, so it’s time to discuss our favorite Cozy Mysteries that we have read this month! If you read a Cozy mystery this month and want to recommend it to the rest of us, be sure to post it here! This month, I’ve unfortunately had less reading time than I would have liked, so all I’ve read is Ann Rule‘s A Rose for Her Grave… which unfortunately isn’t a Cozy mystery, but I still recommend it! (It doesn’t go on this month’s list, though…) If you want to know why I recommend it, be sure to check the post I wrote about it.

So, what have you been reading that you can recommend in April? Please be sure to tell us why you liked these Cozies so much. I know we’re all always on the lookout for more particularly good Cozy Mystery authors! (If you have a lot of Cozies you think are great, please post the ones you like the most at the top of the list.)

As always, please do not tell us about the Cozy Mysteries you did not like.

What really good Cozy Mystery did you read during April 2017 that you want the rest of us to know about, and why did you enjoy it?

Here are the current recommended authors who some of you have read and recommended this past month:

Cathy Ace: WISE Inquiries Agency Mystery Series

Ellery Adams (aka J. B. Stanley, Jennifer Stanley, & 1/2 of Lucy Arlington): Supper Club Mystery Series

Susan Wittig Albert: China Bayles Herbal Mystery Series

Lorraine Bartlett (aka L. L. Bartlett & Lorna Barrett): Victoria Square Mystery Series

Rhys Bowen: In Farleigh Field (stand alone non-Cozy by a normally Cozy author)

Emily Brightwell: Mrs. Jeffries Mystery Series

Blaize Clement: Dixie Hemmingway Mystery Series

E.J. Copperman (aka Jeffrey Cohen): Haunted Guesthouse Mystery Series

Vicki Delany (aka Eva Gates): Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery Series

Andrea Frazer: Falconer Files Mystery Series (first book Death of an Old Git)

Kitty French: Chapelwick Mystery Series (first book The Skeletons of Scarborough House – Note: contains profanity and “adult” themes)

Agatha Frost: Peridale Cafe Cozy Mystery Series (first book Pancakes and Corpses)

Anne George: Southern Sisters Mystery Series

H. Y. Hanna: Oxford Tearoom Mystery Series (first book A Scone To Die For)

Susannah Hardy (aka Sadie Hartwell): Greek to Me Mystery Series

Sherry Harris: Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mystery Series

Chautona Havig: Hartfield Mystery Series (first book Manuscript for Murder)

Heather Horrocks: Who-Dun-Him Inn Mystery Series

Sue Ann Jaffarian: Ghost of Granny Apples Mystery Series

P. D. James: The Mistletoe Murder (short story collection)

T E Kinsey: Lady Hardcastle Mystery Series (first book A Quiet Life in the Country)

Amanda Lee (aka Gayle Trent & Gayle Leeson): Embroidery Mystery Series

Gayle Leeson (aka Gayle Trent & Amanda Lee): Down South Cafe Mystery Series

Jenn McKinlay (aka Josie Belle & Lucy Lawrence): Cupcake Baker Mystery Series

Marcia Muller & Bill Pronzini: Carpenter & Quincannon, Professional Detective Services Mystery Series

Linda Reilly: Deep Fried Mystery Series (first book Fillet of Murder)

David Rosenfelt: Andy Carpenter Mystery Series

Kate Saunders: Laetitia Rodd Mystery Series (first book The Secrets of Wishtide)

Paige Shelton: Dangerous Type Mystery Series

Fran Stewart: Scotshop Mystery Series

Diane Vallere: Material Witness Mystery Series

Lea Wait: Mainely Needlepoint Mystery Series

Jacqueline Winspear: Maisie Dobbs Mystery Series

Diane Xarissa: Isle of Man Mystery Series (first book Aunt Bessie Assumes)

[If you click on the author’s name (blue) link, it will take you to his/her page on the Cozy Mystery site. The pages have all of the authors’ books listed chronologically.]

I will list the authors and series that have been recommended, but I urge you to read the comments below so you can see the reasons other Cozy Mystery readers thought these were their best reads of the month.

♦To access more Cozy Mystery Books Recommendations, click on this link♦

P.S. I usually don’t comment on your recommendations since they speak for themselves.

New Releases – April 24 to April 30, 2017

Here is the list of new release for April 24 to April 30!

Barbara Allan: Antiques Frame (This will be the 11th in the Trash ‘n’ Treasures Mystery Series.)

Mollie Cox Bryan: No Charm Intended (This will be the 2nd in the Cora Crafts Mystery Series.)

Nancy Bush: Dangerous Behavior (This will be a Stand Alone thriller.)

Sherry Harris: A Good Day to Buy (This will be the 4th in the Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mystery Series.)

Iris Johansen: No Easy Target (This will be a Stand Alone mystery.)

G.A. McKevett: Every Body on Deck (This will be the 22nd in the Savannah Reid Mystery Series.)

Cynthia Riggs: Trumpet of Death (This will be the 13th in the  Martha’s Vineyard Mystery Series.)

Ann Rule: A Rose for Her Grave

I just took another little “break” from my Cozies – still staying with the broad “mystery” theme. It has been a while since I did this. The last time I did I read the very same author: Ann Rule. I love her true crime novels. This time I read her 1993 “A Rose for Her Grave and Other True Cases” (also known as Ann Rule’s Crime Files Vol. 1). Ann Rule’s crime Files are collections of several different crimes, with one longer “main” true crime that anchors the book. The “main” crime in this particular Crime Files is about Randy Roth – an apparently very charismatic woman-charmer.

While the shorter crime cases are interesting and well-written, it’s Randy Roth’s incredible, dastardly actions that stood out for me. Women, BEWARE the charmers like him!

I believe that Ann Rule is considered one of the best, if not the best true crime author. She makes the crimes (with all the people and settings) read like good fiction – and sometimes it’s hard to believe her books are based on real events.

Ann Rule had an interest in true crime even before she started writing. She was once a police woman with the Seattle police department and she also volunteered on a crisis help line – with serial killer Ted Bundy!

I think of myself as a rather slow reader – even though I took an Evelyn Wood Speed-Reading course years ago. However, every time I read one of Ann Rule’s true crime novels, it seems I truly get my money’s worth at that speed-reading course!

If you’re ever interested in reading a true crime novel >>> I strongly recommend starting with one by Ann Rule. (Even though it may spoil you when you read a true crime novel by someone else!)

New Releases – April 17 to April 23, 2017

Here is the list of new release for April 17 to April 23!

David Baldacci: The Fix (This will be the 3rd in the Amos Decker Mystery Series.)

Ann Cleeves: Cold Earth (This will be the 8th in the Shetland Island Mystery Series.)

Kathi Daley: Easter Escapade (This will be the 24th in the Zoe Donovan Mystery Series. This is an Easter mystery.)

Kathryn Miller Haines: The Girl from Yesterday (This will be a stand-alone psychological thriller.)

Karen Harper: Falling Darkness (This will be the 3rd in the South Shores Mystery Series.)

Veronica Heley: False Fire (This will be the 11th in the Abbot Agency Mystery Series.)

Sasscer Hill: Flamingo Road (This will be a Stand Alone mystery.)

Sara Paretsky: Fallout (This will be the 18th in the V.I. Warshawski Mystery Series.)

Diane Vallere: The Decorator Who Knew Too Much (This will be the 4th in the Mad for Mod Mystery Series.)

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